Rotary engine.



PATENTED PEB.` l1, 1908.

LE. Lm EG BN .DIJE DY .R AA .T G0 R APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1 o

5' 9 7 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NQ. 878,613. PATENTEDFERfllQlQoB. G. A. DIBBELL.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPTJ, Y1907. i

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

sumar@ c wenns GEORGE A( DIBBELL,l OF WASHBURN, WISCONSIN.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1l, 1908.

Application filed September 5i 1907. Serial No. 391.411.

To all 'whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that l, GEORGE A. DIBBELL, acitizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Washburn, in the county of Bayfield and State of Wisconsin,have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to rotary engines, and the object is to provide asimple, cheap but eflicientrotary engine of the single as well as thecompound type, and to construct such engine with only rotating and nooscillating or reciprocating parts.

In the accompanying drawin s: Figure 1 is an end elevation of my engineooking into all cylindrical parts, the cylinder covers being removed.Fig. 2 is a side view ofthe packing rings used in the cylinders. Fig. 31s the cover removedfrom the cylinders in Fig. 1.\ Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on the line a-a in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a top view of acompound engineconstructed on the principle of my invention and provided withcontrolling and reversing valve whose shell in said view is intersectedhorizontally on a line passing throughV all of its ports, and the steampipes connected with the ports, except the intake from thehboiler andthe iinal exhaust port. Fig. 6 isa top view of the valve and adjoiningpiping. Fig. 7 is a vertical central section of the valve-shell on theline t-b in Fig. 6 exposing the side of the i .valve plug.

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals, 1 designates thebed-plate ofthe engine, and upon it is secured in any suitable mannerthree cylinders A, B and C, which are on the same principle in thesingle engine in Figs. 1 and 4 as in the larger cylinders A2, B2, C2 inthe compound engine in Fig. 5 and in the smaller cylinders in the lastnamed ligure, so that a description of 'one set of cylinders will coverthe rest of them except as may be otherwise specified.

In Figs. 1 and 4 will be seen that in the cylinder O is fitted a rotarypiston 2, `fixed on a shaft 3 and having in its face a segmental gap 4adapted to receive loosely the wings 5, fitted one in the face of eachof the pistons 6 and 7, which are ixed on shafts 8 and 9 in thecylinders A and B. On said shafts 8 and 9 are fixed gears 10 and 11meshing with a gear 12fixed on the shaft 3,7 so that the three pistonsrevolve in unison and are so geared that the gap 4 receives alternatelythe Wings 5 one at a time.

Around each piston 6 and 7 is left a space 13 through which the steamcoming in through ports 14, 14a chases the wings 5 and then exhausts at15 and 15a; and to reverse the engine involves simply a suitable valvewhereby the steam is passed in the reverse direction. Such valve will befairl understood from the description present y to be given of Figs. 5,6 and 7.

16 and 17 in Fig. 5 indicate pulleys fixed on the shafts of the enginefor driving belts (not shown) and thereby other machinery.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the wear of the ends ofv the pistons istaken up and leakage of steam at said points prevented, by metallicpacking rings 18 fitting tightly Within the ends of the cylinders, andbeing adjusted against the ends of the pistons by screws 19 in the cover20 of the cylinders. The opposite ends of the cylinder may be closed bya cover 21 cast integral with the cylinder as in Fig. 4, or may be likecover 20 secured by screws 23 5 in either ease the pistons may be heldagainst the cover by the acking vring 18, or such rings may be providedat both ends of the pistons. The packing rings may be made i-n one solidpiece or separate,`and in the latter case they may have their reducedoverlapping edges attached together by pivots 22.'

Turning now to the compound engine in Fig. 5 and its valve shown inFigs. 5, 6 and 7 it will be understood that the large cylinders A2, B2,CZ contain pistons like 2, 6 and 7 in Fig. 1, only that they are larger,and are fixed on the same shafts as the small pistons, and the gears 10,11 and 12 serve for all the pistons to keep them in the desired relativepositions.

To guide the steam properly to and from as well as through the engine lemploy a valve comprising a shell 24 having the steam inletpipe 25 atits top and the exhaust pipe 26 at its bottom communicating respectivelywith the steam spaces 27 and 28, one above and the other below the valveplug 29, of which 30 is the stem and 31 the operating handle or lever,and 32 is a diametrical groove in the top of the plug for directing thesteam.

33 are lugs at the underside of the cover 34 of the shell for keepingthe plug down with the bottom end of its stem in the step 35, which,being small, allows theplug to turn easily although there is steampressure on the top of it.

The shell of the valve is provided with fou side portsl 38, 39, 40, 41connected with the engine by pipes for the steam to pass through, aswill be fully understood from the following description of theoperation.

In starting the engine, if the valve plug is turned as inl Fig. 5-witlithe end of the groove 32 toward the port 38, the live steam passesthrough the branched pipe 42 into ports 15 and 15-a of the smallcylinders, and after turning the pistons therein it returns from ports14 aridv14a through the branched pipe 43 to port 39 and through thecurved duct 44 in the valve-plug it passes into the branched pipe 45,which leads to ports 15b and 15C of the large cylinders, in which itoperates at low pressure and returns through the ports 14h, 14c andthe-branched pipe 46 into port 41 of the valve shell, where it passesthrough a side gap 47 in the valve plug and thence through the lowerspace 28 and out of the exhaust pipe 26. To reverse the engine the plugis turned with the groove 32y toward the port 39; the steam will thenenter the small cylinders through pipe 43, return by pipe 42, passthrough the curved duct 44 into pipe 46, and after operating in thelarge cylinders returns through pipe 45, side gap 47 and space 28, toexhaust pipe 26'. And to stop thev engine the plug is turned with theend of groove 14 between the two ports 38 and 39.

419 is a ste-am space to admit pressure of the live steam-tocounter-balance the side pressure on the plug in the downward extension50 of the groove 32 by which the ports 38 and 39 are reached.

To take up wear of the wings 5 as well as to adjust them at any timetoward the cylinders, screws 48 are screwed into the pistons and supportthe wing on their heads so that by turning the screws slightly the wingmay be adjusted to a steam fit against the cylinder. This is the same inall the wings butv is illustrated only to the left in Fig. 1.

By meshing the gears so that the wings of they pistons stand in therelative directions shown in Fig. 1 they will be alternately in fu-*l'laction and thus prevent any dead center of the engine although the wingsare idle while passingV the inlet ports.

The arrows'37 in Fig. 1 indicate the relative rotary motion of thepistons when the steam passes through the ports in the d-irectionsindicated there by smaller arrows. The piston 2 may also be called anabutment, but as it is as large as the pistons 6 and 7 and the terminalsofv gap 4 act at short periods asv piston Wings the element 2 has beentermed piston, without thereby seeking to avoid the term abutment.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A rotary enginehaving two working cylinders arranged parallel to each other and anintermediate smaller cylinder between the working cylinders andcommunicating with their interior, a central shaft in each cylinder,

a piston. or rotating plug snugly fitted in the intermediate cylinderand having in its face a longitudinal transversely segmental groove, arotary piston fixed on each shaft of the working cylinder and being inperipherical steam, metallic packing rings fitting in thecylinders andag-ainst the ends of the pistons and the plug, and means for adjustingsaid rings. against thefends of the pistons and plug;

2. A rotary engine having two working cylinders arranged parallel toeach other and an intermediate smaller cylinder between the workingcylinders and communicating with their interior, a central shaft in eachcylin der, a pistony or rotating plug snugly fitted in the intermediatecylinder and having in its face a longitudinal transversely segmentalgroove, rotary piston fixed on each shaft of the working cylinder andbeing'in peripherical contact with and ofthe same diameter as the plugso as to leave a steam space about the piston at one side of eachworking piston a wing adapted to be moved by the steam through the steamspace and to pass into the groove ofy the plug` when passing the latter,gears fixed on all of said shafts and so meshed together that the wingsof the working pistons pass alternately into the groove of the plug,said cylinders having at their points of union ports for the inlet andexhaust of steam, pipes extending from said ports, a valve connectedwith the pipes for starting, stopping and reversing the engine, longercylindersin axial lines with the cylinders described, pistons and plugin the longer cylinders fixed on said shafts, and means for directingthe steam from the smaller to longer cylinders through to the valve. v

In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. DIBBELL. Witnesses:

JOHN WALsH, H. P. AXELBERG.

